That $105 is most "likely" the charge just for him to come out on a Sunday... ie, leave his family on his day off... It is ethical to charge a fee for responding to your call, whether or not he fixes the furnace...
I had a HVAC technician come to my home last sunday for a furnace problem. He did not fix my problem but did show me how I could make furnace work for time being. While he was here I went to crawl space with him and fetched the tools he neeed for the area was a tight fit for him. He saw no way to fix the furnace and wanted to sell me a new furnace. He has billed me $105.00 for his service. Should I pay the full amount? Is it ethical for him to charge that amount for not fixing the furnace? I have since gone with another tech. who is installing a inducer today that should fix my problem.
Kane
That $105 is most "likely" the charge just for him to come out on a Sunday... ie, leave his family on his day off... It is ethical to charge a fee for responding to your call, whether or not he fixes the furnace...
If he couldn't figure out how to fix it and you had to pay another tech to do so, this might be a time to fight. Is this a 1 man outfit? If not, call the boss. See if he knows what he has representing his company!
I am not as quick as loonie to jump to the conclusion that this second technician will fix your furnace... Please, let me know if it does work...
he is the owner, one man operation.
Originally posted by kaneswaney
He did not fix my problem but did show me how I could make furnace work for time being.
How did you make it work?
Ours is the only industry that I am aware of that promotes and provides "free service opinions, or free second opinions." Why is that? I know I can't go to anyone with an equivilent level of expertise and get a free second opinion. Guess what? I have to make my co-pay BEFORE I even see my Dr. If a customer makes a request for me to come out to service a piece of equipment they are advised from the start what the cost of my responding is. Especially on overtime! If I cannot fix the problem, then a slight concession may be in order. I have to be cognizant of the fact that if I don't have the part with me that I might need, I may not be able to get it after hours. Also, working with the customer may in fact, enable you to keep that customer. Otherwise you'll lose the customer and have someone upset that you have not refunded their money.
You're lucky he came out on Sunday and got you back on line.
pay the bill
i'm on call Sunday:::you call i will tell you on the phone the rates, the minimum for the service call.sunday can't get parts if it's a board or a non-stock item, i will advise you that i fix it or not you are charged -----i have to get in the van and drive to your residence(vehicles,tools,gas,insurance,payroll,par ts stock,office space etc...)it all costs money /// pay the bill
Stop your biatchin Kane !! Do you biatch when you have to pay a doctor to tell you that you have the flu ?? You should be happy that you were only charged $105 for a terchnician to come out on a Sunday !! A Sunday when the playoffs are on @ that !!! Just to put it into prospective for you , if I have to leave my house on a Sunday for an OT call it is a MINIMUM 4 hours charged @ $190 per hour !!! If it takes me longer than 4 hours you will be billed from the time I left my house until the time I walked back into my house !!! DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY
call your family DR. on sunday to come to your house(sniff sniff)i bet he tells ya.But what's a service call. If you're not a regular customer, it's C.O.D. repair or not,we don't have a rolling warehouse for every product.
if it is on old cust. they already know the drill new cust. calls for weekend service i want the service call charge upfront just like the dr. wants the co pay
pay the man
All of you who thinks he should be paid... Is this how you run your businesses? With an inducer-equipped furnace we aren't talking a 50s relic. Sounds like he didn't want to work on it, just sell a new one. OK, if the 2nd tech suddenly can't fix it either, then I might agree. But we have way too many "salesmen techs" around town that if they see something over 10 years old, they won't even try to fix, just pressure the customer into new equipment. It's amazing how many of these furnaces need little or nothing to keep them going.He saw no way to fix the furnace and wanted to sell me a new furnace.
Pay the man. You called and he came. Unless he gave a guarantee he could fix it that day. $105 is cheap for a Sunday.
Beware of advice given by some guy on the Internet.
KANE,Your'e the kind of customer that really chafes me!If you get called into work on week ends you get overtime don't you? The man showed up didn't he? He may not have been the best service tech.(which is another whole story)But you need to pay him.This is the part of job that gets to me sometimes,customer wants to pick your brain, you get them going(maybe temp,) and now the problem is resolved,they don't "think" they should have to pay.IMHO.
do the right thing and pay the tradesman. He left his family to help yours!
wouldn't it be wise to explane to customers
#1 our service tech. will do there best to fix YOUR problem, but
in the event they can't, you will still have to pay a min charge of
$$$. is this agreeable? I feel it's also wise to tell the customer what you won't do ! like baby sit there children and pets.
OH and wet ,rat infested crawelers are double time charges during normal work hrs.
Being the owner and also the person that would go out on a sunday call, if I could not fix it there would be no charge. I have to agree that if it is fixed by the last guy you have reason to be upset but you called them and they came so I would pay. I would talk to the owner (after you get it fixed) and see what he says. I have paid service guys alot more to work on machinery and not have the problem fixed but solve it myself later. I like getting what I pay for just like everyone else but sometimes you pay for on the job training and still have a problem. If you don't pay you can bet next time he won't come back and he maybe the only one answering his phone on sunday.
He might have seen a fault the next guy missed.Why did he suggest a new furnace??If you say he found a crack & the other guy did not.you need to have them back so he can show the problem to the guy that missed it.You might be not wanting to pay the better tech & the guy that is trying to keep you & your family safe!
[Edited by markwolf on 01-15-2005 at 10:53 PM]
Take your time & do it right!
You "fetched" him the tools????.....By any chance......
is your name Jethro Bodine?
Did ya invite him for a swim in the ceeeeeeement pond?
You should have.
Hey cockroach, don't bug me! ©